We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
The increase in piracy attempts in the Singapore Strait is a cause for concern as terrorists could exploit the same loopholes to wreak havoc, say security experts.
Government officials have called for greater collaboration with regional neighbours to address the threat.
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Source: straitstimes.com
On 25 December, an incident occurred to tanker Stena Immortal while underway in the eastbound lane of Singapore Strait when six unarmed perpetrators were sighted in the engine room of the ship.
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Source: seatrade-maritime.com
The tanker Jag Lalit was boarded by six perpetrators armed with knives at 23-25 hours in the Singapore Strait while bound for Kaohsiung, Taiwan, according to the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC). Members of the crew were assaulted in the attack with the 4th engineer punched in the face and the chief engineer suffering bruising to his neck with a gold chain stolen from him.
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Source: seatrade-maritime.com
MANILA: Philippine forces rescued two of three Indonesian hostages Sunday after a gun battle with their captors from the Muslim militant group Abu Sayyaf in the southern jungles, a regional military commander said.
A soldier and a militant were killed in two successive firefights at dawn that allowed troops to rescue the two Indonesians in the mountainous hinterlands off Panamao town in Sulu province, said Lt Gen Cirilito Sobejana.
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Source: bangkokpost.com
MARITIME AUTHORITIES from neighboring Asian countries are meeting in Manila on Dec. 18–19 to tackle security in the Sulu and Celebes Seas, where the Abu Sayyaf terror group is the biggest threat, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
The gathering is attended by representatives from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and China. It is convened by the PCG and the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre (ISC).
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Source: bworldonline.com
A little-known success story?
Despite ongoing incidents of piracy in Asia, international co-operation efforts are having genuine success at containing the issue. Various policy initiatives are showing promise for the security of the region’s sea lanes, now and into the future, Sam Bateman writes.
Since I wrote on the subject of piracy in Asia for Policy Forum in 2016, the situation has shown marked improvement. According to the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), there were 76 incidents in Asia in 2018 as compared with 203 in 2015. In the first nine months of 2019, 54 incidents occurred in the region as compared with 64 in the same period of 2018, a significant drop by any measure.
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Source: policyforum.net
ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre Conducts Anti-Piracy Capacity Building Programme for Senior Officers of Maritime Authorities and Law Enforcement Agencies in Cooperation with Vietnam Coast Guard ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) in cooperation with ReCAAP Vietnam Focal Point (Vietnam Coast Guard) today convened the Capacity Building Senior Officer’s Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The three-day programme will gather senior officers from 16 ReCAAP Member Countries as well as Malaysia and Indonesia to review the situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia including the incidents of abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas, share specific case studies, and discuss ways to improve the maritime safety situation in Asia.
Complementing the programme is a lecture on international maritime laws and their applications, as well as a scenario-based exercise facilitated by Professor Max Mejia of the World Maritime University.
Participants of the programme will also have an opportunity to have a dialogue with the shipping industry based in Vietnam to better understand their concerns.
“The ReCAAP model is unique because it gives emphasis on information sharing among a network of 20 ReCAAP Focal Points across Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States as an approach to fighting maritime crimes,” said Mr. Masafumi Kuroki, Executive Director of ReCAAP ISC. “Thanks to the regional and international cooperation, incidents of piracy and sea robbery in Asia are decreasing. We will continue to strengthen the capability and cooperation of ReCAAP Focal Points and regional authorities to keep Asian waters—one of the most economically vital in the world—safe for seafarers, ships and cargoes.”
The ReCAAP Member Countries represented at the Capacity Building Senior Officers’ Meeting 2019 in Hanoi are Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.
Source: recaap.org
During January-October 2019 (as of 19 Oct), three incidents of unauthorised boarding of ships in locations of close proximity to each other were reported in the western sector of Singapore Strait. All three incidents occurred to ships of Gross Tonnage between 43,000 and 160,000 while underway in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS). Of concern was the latest incident on 19 Oct 19 which involved perpetrators who were armed with gun and knife. The perpetrators threatened the crew, tied his hands and escaped with the ship engine spares. The gun was not discharged.
With the occurrence of three incidents in close proximity to each other within a period of 20 days (on 30 Sep, 18 Oct and 19 Oct), the ReCAAP ISC advises all ships to exercise enhanced vigilance, adopt extra precautionary measures and report all incidents immediately to the nearest coastal State. The ReCAAP ISC recommends to the law enforcement agencies of the littoral States to step up surveillance, increase patrols and respond promptly to incidents reported by ships.
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Source: recaap.org
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and Maritime and Port Authority of
Singapore, in cooperation with ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre, Join
Efforts to Build Region’s Capabilities in Combating Piracy and Sea Robbery
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA Japan) and the Maritime and Port
Authority of Singapore (MPA), in cooperation with the ReCAAP Information Sharing
Centre (ReCAAP ISC), jointly organised the 3rd Capacity Building Executive
Programme (CBEP) in Singapore. The one-week programme begins today, and will
end on 13 September 2019.
Since the inaugural edition in 2017 held in both Singapore and Japan, CBEP has
become the region’s flagship counter-piracy and sea robbery capacity building
programme, with all 20 ReCAAP Contracting Parties as well as Indonesia and
Malaysia having participated in previous editions.
This year’s edition will see senior officials and international experts address a broad
spectrum of piracy and sea robbery issues including:
• Situation Update on Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia
• Evolving Situation and Advisory in the Sulu-Celebes Seas
• Situation in the East and West Africa
• Sharing of best practices and experiences of participating countries
• UNCLOS, SUA Convention, Hostage Convention as applied to Piracy and Sea
Robbery
• Maritime Cybersecurity
The lectures will be supplemented by in-depth discussions of case studies from
regulatory/law-enforcement agencies from across the region.
A dialogue session between regulatory/law enforcement agencies and the shipping
industry will be held to promote exchange of views and mutual cooperation.
“With 13 years of efforts and contributions by the ISC and the contracting parties,
ReCAAP has proved itself as a successful model of regional cooperation which has
made significant progress in mitigating piracy and sea robbery in Asia. Despite the
recent trend of decreasing number of piracy incidents, new challenges such as
terrorism and cyber attacks have been observed in the maritime domain. Against this
backdrop, Japan is pleased to co-host the 3rd programme with Singapore and the
ReCAAP ISC, which aims to provide the participants with opportunities to enhance
law enforcement capabilities in the efforts of counter-piracy and to learn how to
address emerging threats, as well as to exchange views and ideas with regional
partners and experts,” said Mr. Hideki Yamaji, Director, Maritime Security Policy
Division, MOFA Japan and Acting Japanese Governor to the ReCAAP ISC Governing
Council.
“Singapore is pleased to once again partner Japan to co-host this year’s ReCAAP
Capacity Building Executive Programme. Capacity building is one of the pillars of
ReCAAP. The sharing of best practices and experiences, and building the collegiality
among fellow practitioners, strengthens the network we have. This Programme has
contributed greatly to our collective effort in the fight against piracy and armed robbery
against ships in Asia,” said Ms. Quah Ley Hoon, MPA’s Chief Executive and Singapore
Governor to the ReCAAP ISC Governing Council.
“A distinguishing factor of ReCAAP ISC that has led to its success in reducing both
the number and severity of incidents in Asia in recent years is the incident reporting
and response framework attributing the primary role to the coastal States. The CBEP
builds on this framework to enhance the effectiveness of the coastal States in
addressing piracy and sea robbery in Asia,” said Mr. Masafumi Kuroki, Executive
Director of ReCAAP ISC.
Source: recaap.org
A total of 28 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia were reported in the first half of this year, marking the lowest number in 13 years since the first half of 2007, according to data by ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC).
While there was a year-on-year drop in first half incidents, 18 incidents were reported in the second quarter, up from 10 incidents in the first quarter.
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Source: seatrade-maritime.com
Maritime Security News 